The grown-ups unpacked all the children and the few things we brought. We went out; it was warm and very dry, and the ground was all a fine rose-gold dust, powdery like flour (Mother said it must be a kind of silt), and we amused ourselves by kicking it up in big clouds. Aunt Eva said we would get our clothes dirty, but Mother said, “Oh, but it’s a new world!” and kicked up her own cloud, and soon all the grown-ups were making big clouds, and laughing with us. Then they grew serious again. For now, something had to be done. We had landed in a big flat place with no water in sight, just the flat dust from horizon to horizon, excepting a few darker and redder smudges in the distance, and a line of big, flat-topped chimney-shapes in the West. Some said we should go towards the chimneys; others said the smudges might be vegetation. It looked like an argument would break out until Aunt Eva said, “The first thing to do is to see what we’ve brought with us.” All saw at once that she was right—the rush to leave, both from our Earth houses and from the ship, had left the inventory in disorder.
Mother at once became very excited about taking inventory and said that she had remembered a notebook. Of course she had forgot a pencil, which Aunt Karina supplied, and soon everyone was lined up youngest to oldest with the items they had brought. Everything besides the clothing on our backs was counted.
Eloise brought:
1 box strawberry-filled panda cookies
2 felt unicorns
1 toy mirror
Michele brought:
1 stuffed black bear
1 butterfly net
5 nesting plastic bowls
1 set of cooking utensils: spatula, spoon, ladle, and cake knife
1 tote bag
Ransom brought:
1 slinky
4 silicon pendants
1 solar-powered fan
River brought:
1 blanket
1 Beginner’s Bible
Keziah brought:
5 white mice with enclosure
1 bag mouse pellets
The Horse and his Boy
The Baby-Sitter’s Club #4
1 Adventure Bible
1 Stack of activity sheets
2 sketchbooks
31 water bottles, filled
4 cans Coca-Cola
6 cans lemon San Pellegrino
1 duffel bag
Ezra brought:
Waterfalls of Northern Minnesota
Mini Swiss Army knife
2 water bottles, empty
1 jar trail mix
1 bag beef jerky
1 small canister lighter fluid
1 Zippo lighter
1 can insect repellent
1 bottle sunscreen
1 spork
1 small backpack
1 pair binoculars
Silence brought:
Grimm’s Fairy Tales (illustrated)
Anderson’s Shorter Tales
Classics to Read Aloud to your Children
The Lord of the Rings
Perelandra
Little House in the Big Woods
Anne of Green Gables
1 NKJV Study Bible
1 backpack
Ezekiel brought:
1 tent
1 frying pan
1 pair of men’s boots, small
2 pairs of shoelaces
The Audubon Society Guide to Insects of North America
1 magnifying glass
Maranatha brought:
3 tarps
30’ rope
Mischa brought:
1 Advent calendar
12 candles
1 box fishing tackle
1 backpack
Zion brought:
12 boxes matza bread
12 sticks butter
6 apples
4 lb smoked salmon
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1 tin almonds
2 ice packs
1 cooler bag
John brought:
1 collapsible fishing rod
1 box fishing tackle
1 trowel
1 inflatable raft
6 Frog Togs
25 ponchos
1 Duluth pack
1 rifle with case and ammunition
Genny brought:
1 lined notebook
1 polaroid camera
4 boxes polaroid film
3 Sharpies
16 pencils
1 pencil sharpener
1 pencil box
3 pairs pants, small
1 dress
4 T-shirts, medium
1 backpack
Moshe brought:
1 sewing kit
2 belts, medium
1 can opener
3 paintbrushes
6 small jars paint
Judah brought:
1 hunting knife
1 folding pocket knife
1 large jar peanut butter
Heaven brought:
6 rolls duct tape
1 pair noise-cancelling headphones
3 sweaters
Cory brought:
1 Swiss Army knife
15 spoons
4 nested pans
1 pot
1 jar curry powder
1 pepper grinder
1 salt grinder
1 lighter
1 ocarina
Aunt Anastasia brought:
4 Micron pens
1 box Pocky
1 box raspberry hibiscus tea
Mothflight’s Vision
Aunt Karina brought:
5 bottles sunscreen
4 towels
1 gallon water
1 bottle vegetable oil
10 spoons
2 pencils
2 wooden stir spoons
1 ladle
1 sewing kit
1 first aid kit
1 tote bag
1 ESV Bible
Uncle Juan brought:
1 fishing rod
1 compound bow, with arrows
Aunt Christina brought:
6 sketchbooks
3 boxes Mac n’ Cheese
4 erasers
20 boxes cinnamon gum
1 saddlebag
1 NIV Bible
Pride and Prejudice
Aunt Joy brought:
2 boxes raspberry hibiscus tea
8 pillows
1 backpack laundry hamper
3 cans French onion soup
3 cans clam chowder
10 cans tomato soup
4 cans Boston baked beans
Uncle Alan brought:
1 rifle, with case and ammunition
1 file knife
1 Swiss Army knife
1 roll Gorilla tape
1 bottle Superglue
1 wrench
1 needle nose pliers
1 box screws
1 box nails
1 hammer
1 tool belt
Aunt Tex brought:
1 jar of soil from Earth
1 packet pumpkin seeds
1 packet sunflower seeds
1 box family photographs
1 ESV journaling Bible
Uncle Enrico brought:
1 lb. dried apricots
1 lb. dried pears
1 lb. dried pea pods
2 jars strawberry preserves
2 jars pickles
1 paper bag
Aunt Eva brought:
6 blankets
27 sweaters
3 sticks ChapStick
4 brushes
16 toothbrushes
1 box baking soda
1 bag hairbands
1 jar Eucerin
4 bottles Tylenol
? bottle Maalox
1 bottle cough syrup
5 bottles kid’s cold medicine
1 first aid kit
1 Duluth pack
1 Greek New Testament
1 Hebrew Bible
Uncle Isaac brought:
19 winter coats
1 Duluth pack
Aunt Lydia brought:
1 bottle Tabasco sauce
7 black tea bags
4 2-lb jars of mixed nuts
23 bags Shorty’s smoked sausages
4 1-lb cans tuna
6 8oz bricks cheddar cheese
9 8oz cans black beans
7 bags tortillas
3 1/2 1-lb summer sausages
1 Duluth pack
Uncle Robert brought:
1/2 box kindling
1 lighter
2 bottles iodine
5 toothbrushes
5 water filtration pumps
1 bag firewood
1 pistol with ammunition
3 gallons water
Mother brought:
1 agate
1 trilobite fossil
1 box raspberry hibiscus tea
2 bottles Adderall
1 can Creole seasoning
1 jar red pepper
1 jar basil
1 jar curry powder
1 roll medical gauze
1 pair scissors
1 notebook
The Man Who Was Thursday
2 boxes Ziploc bags
Father brought:
1 bottle hydrogen peroxide
7 large bars chocolate
26 Roman candle rockets
So we found, gladly, that some food stores had still been brought, but were disappointed to find that we had left most of the extra clothes behind, that we only had one tent, and that some of us had left our Bibles as well. Aunt Tex said everything must now be shared in common, like the first Christians. Then Uncle Enrico’s bag tore, and someone suggested consolidating some things—perhaps the first aid kits. We found that by using Ziploc bags for the medicines this could be done easily. Then Aunt Karina said that we should sort all the supplies into groups, which Mother again set about excitedly. Little Eloise wanted a piece of chocolate, but Father said No and that it was a special kind of chocolate with more nutrients, and that we would have only a little at a time. Many of the children asked what the fireworks were for; Father said that if we got separated, we could use them to signal to one another. And so we were quieted a little.
